The Cuddebackville Dam was a concrete

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

on the

Neversink River The Neversink River (also called Neversink Creek in its upper course) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Delaware River in southeastern N ...

in Deerpark, Orange County, New York near the town of Cuddebackville, New York, removed in October, 2004 to benefit

aquatic life An aquatic ecosystem is an ecosystem found in and around a body of water, in contrast to land-based terrestrial ecosystems. Aquatic ecosystems contain communities of organisms—aquatic life—that are dependent on each other and on their environm ...

. It was the first dam removed in

New York State New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

for

environmental Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, referring respectively to all living and non-living things occurring naturally and the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism ...

reasons.

History

The Cuddebackville Dam is actually two different dams that are separated by a small island. The original structure was built in the 1820s to divert water from the Neversink River into the Delaware and Hudson Canal (D&H Canal). The second structure was built in 1903. The Cuddebackville Dam was six feet high and across. The dam was built to divert

water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

turbines A turbine ( or ) (from the Greek , ''tyrbē'', or Latin ''turbo'', meaning vortex) is a rotary mechanical device that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work. The work produced can be used for generating electrical ...

to generate

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

. The water was diverted into a feeder

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...

connected to a small

hydropower Hydropower (from Ancient Greek -, "water"), also known as water power or water energy, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, ...

plant. The plant was abandoned in 1945 because modern power lines were built to draw electricity from farther away. The dam fell into ownership of the Orange County. The dam was removed in October, 2004 by the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wor ...

in partnership with the

Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, United States. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in ...

to benefit the aquatic life in the area. Removal of the dam caused a change in the hydrology of the Neversink River and impeded the flow of water into the D&H Canal feeder. This led to the withering of the one mile long segment of the D&H Canal at Cuddebackville which had remained watered up to that time.

Effect on aquatic life

The Neversink River is the home to a rich diversity of

, some of which are on the list of federally endangered species. The river is also known for its pristine water conditions. In addition to being a home to endangered species the river is an internationally famous site for

fly-fishing Fly fishing is an angling technique that uses an ultra-lightweight lure called an artificial fly, which typically mimics small invertebrates such as flying and aquatic insects to attract and catch fish. Because the mass of the fly lure is ins ...

. However, all of these qualities were being threatened by the Cuddebackville Dam. In particular, two species were under threat, the Dwarf Wedge Mussel and the

American Shad The American shad (''Alosa sapidissima'') is a species of anadromous clupeid fish naturally distributed on the North American coast of the North Atlantic, from Newfoundland to Florida, and as an introduced species on the North Pacific coast. T ...

.Finding of No Significant Impact - Cuddebackville Dam Removal Project.
(n.d.). The United States Army Corps of Engineers. Retrieved November 23, 2009

Dwarf wedgemussel

The Neversink River contains a large population of sea mussels and the richest diversity of

freshwater mussel Freshwater bivalves are molluscs of the order Bivalvia that inhabit freshwater ecosystems. They are one of the two main groups of freshwater molluscs, along with freshwater snails. The majority of bivalve molluscs are saltwater species that l ...

s in the upper Delaware River Basin. However, one of the seven species of

mussel Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and Freshwater bivalve, freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other ...

s found in the Neversink River, the

dwarf wedgemussel The dwarf wedgemussel (''Alasmidonta heterodon'') is an endangered species of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusk in the family Unionidae, the river mussels. Distribution and conservation status This is a rare species found solely ...

, is on the federal list of

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

. This situation was not being aided by the mussels being collected by the abandoned Cuddebackville Dam. The collection of mussel species near the dam was resulting in the Neversink River's mussel population being primarily concentrated in one area, instead being well distributed throughout the river. Before the removal of the dam, not one dwarf wedgemussel could be found beyond the dam. This was making the mussels highly susceptible to

extinction Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

. A catastrophic

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

oil spill An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is usually given to marine oil spills, where oil is released into th ...

chemical spill A chemical accident is the unintentional release of one or more hazardous chemicals, which could harm human health and the environment. Such events include fires, explosions, and release of toxic materials that may cause people illness, injury, or ...

, or

epidemic An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of hosts in a given population within a short period of time. For example, in meningococcal infection ...

could have resulted in

local extinction Local extinction, also extirpation, is the termination of a species (or other taxon) in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with extinction, global extinctions. Local extinctions ...

of the mussel populations in the Neversink River. The threat that the dam posed on the mussel life, particularly the Dwarf Wedge Mussel was one of the primary reasons for its removal.Baldigo, B. P., Riva-Murray, K., & Schuler, G. E. (2005)
Effects of Environmental and Spatial Features on Mussel Populations and Communities in a North American River
Malacological Review, 38

American shad

The Cuddebackville Dam also caused problems for the

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

in the Neversink River. The dam restricted the upstream movement of the

American shad The American shad (''Alosa sapidissima'') is a species of anadromous clupeid fish naturally distributed on the North American coast of the North Atlantic, from Newfoundland to Florida, and as an introduced species on the North Pacific coast. T ...

and the

trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...

in the river. The

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (informally referred to as NYSDEC, DEC, EnCon or NYSENCON) is a department of New York state government. The department guides and regulates the conservation, improvement, and protecti ...

had reported cases of

schools A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of ...

of 100 to 1000 fish attempting to

migrate Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

up the Neversink River, only to be blocked by the dam.

Removal

In order to protect the endangered aquatic life in the Neversink River the dam was removed in October, 2004. The project was a combined effort of the Nature Conservancy and the Army Corps of Engineers. Dams had previously been removed for environmental reasons in other states. However, the Cuddebackville Dam was the first dam in the state of New York to be removed solely for environmental reasons. The cost of the removal process was about $2.2 million. The Nature Conservancy covered 35% of this expense, the Army Corps of Engineers covered the rest.

The Nature Conservancy

The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, United States. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in ...

is known primarily for buying land that might be threatened by development due to its environmental sensitivity. The removal of the Cuddebackville Dam marked a turning point in the organization, in which they broadened their scope to protecting an endangered species by protecting an entire

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

. The Nature Conservancy's interest in the situation began in 1993, three years after the Dwarf Wedge Mussel was discovered and placed on the federal endangered species list. In 1993, the Nature Conservancy purchased 170 upland

acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

s of land on the Neversink River and created the Neversink Preserve in order to protect the newly discovered species of mussel. Over time they have purchased more land so that the Neversink Preserve covers . However, the Nature Conservancy found that the purchasing and protecting of the land was not enough to protect the Dwarf Wedge Mussel due to the complexity of their

life cycle Life cycle, life-cycle, or lifecycle may refer to: Science and academia *Biological life cycle, the sequence of life stages that an organism undergoes from conception to reproduction *Life-cycle hypothesis, in economics *Erikson's stages of psy ...

and the interference of the Cuddebackville Dam.

Army Corps of Engineers

The removal of the Cuddebackville Dam marked a change in purpose of the Army Corps of Engineers. The organization for over a

century A century is a period of 100 years or 10 decades. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. ...

has been building dams and has focused on development. However, the removal of the Cuddebackville Dam marks a new trend of the Army Corps of Engineers removing dams and having an awareness of the environmental impact of the structures that they build. This also shows a changing mindset in the upcoming generation of engineers who in general may be more opposed to dam construction than their predecessors. The project also marks the first time that the Army Corps of Engineers has worked with a nonprofit organization like the Nature Conservancy since a

federal law Federal law is the body of law created by the federal government of a country. A federal government is formed when a country has a central government as well as regional governments, such as subnational states or provinces, each with constituti ...

was passed in 1999 allowing such a partnership.

References

External links

* Slide Show of Dam Removal - http://www.nature.org/popups/photo/cuddeback_1.html (archived location - https://web.archive.org/web/20081129184652/http://www.nature.org/popups/photo/cuddeback_1.html) {{coord, 41, 28, 08, N, 074, 36, 47, W, type:landmark_scale:10000_region:US-NY, display=title Dams in New York (state) Buildings and structures in Orange County, New York Neversink River Protected areas of Orange County, New York Former dams 2004 disestablishments in New York (state) Buildings and structures demolished in 2004